Pirates help spread Christmas message in Tyrone Community Players holiday production

December 4, 2013

Pirates probably are not the first characters you associate with the Christmas season.

Well, the Tyrone Community Players are ready to change that.

The newly released theatrical show "Jingle Arrgh The Way!" will hit the Mishler Theatre stage for one night only Tuesday, Dec. 3. as part of the Family Theatre at the Mishler series.

Article Photos

Mirror photo by Patrick WaksmunskiLinden Markley (center) teaches the game of basketball to Nancy Sloss and Bill Markley in Tyrone Community Players’ “Jingle Arrgh the Way!”

"It's a fabulous fit [with the children's theater series]," said Cindy Bennett, the production's director. "I'm really excited to get to do it. We really enjoyed doing the first one, and we're really enjoying this one too. The characters are fun."

The show is a sequel to the adaptation of the children's book "How I Became a Pirate," story by Melinda Long, with illustrations by David Shannon, which the Tyrone Community Players performed in its 2011-12 season.

"How I Became a Pirate" is the story of 10-year-old Jeremy Jacob who joins a crew of pirates on an adventure after they land on the beach where he's building a sand castle.

This time, Jeremy and the pirates, including Captain Braid Beard and his right-hand-man, Swill, are back with a Christmas message for young and old.

"It's written primarily for children, but it has a lot of humor that adults will get," Bennett said. "It has a nice holiday message for children. Not too smarmy. It's just a nice subtle holiday message about giving and how different people can give different things to each other and that's the real meaning of Christmas."

"The Real Treasure," a song in the production "about the holidays and giving to others is really what matters on the holidays, not receiving," expresses the show's message, said Linden Markley, 13, who is reprising her role as Jeremy.

During their adventure, Jeremy and the pirates end up at the North Pole where they meet Santa and the elves. Bennett believes the show sets a mood for the holidays.

"It's about giving and about giving of yourself as much as presents. It's very nice," she said. "And because most of the children have read the original book, and when we did 'How I Became a Pirate' in Tyrone, a lot of children saw that play, and they relate to these characters already. They know them so it's like they're going on an adventure with a friend."

Markley, an eighth grader at Grier School, Tyrone, said Jeremy is "really willing to try new things and learn about the holidays and teach the pirates about the holidays because they don't know all that much about it."

Playing a male role is "a little bit weird because you have to change your mannerisms and everything, but it's fun to try a different person," Linden said.

Her experience in "How I Became a Pirate" was good, she said.

"It was pretty much the same cast so I know most of these people already. And I feel like now I have a whole other chance to get to know Jeremy Jacob a lot more," she said.

Nancy Sloss of Tyrone reprises her role as Swill in the latest production.

She hopes the audience not only gets the message: "that the important part of Christmas isn't just the presents. That it is, of course, the giving to each other all year round in everything," she said, but "also they can just get some real holiday cheer going because ... the captain asks the kids to participate, clapping and singing at the end, and I think it will bring it all together and be a good kick off for the Christmas season."